Korn threatens to sue for defamation
KORN
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Democrat Party deputy secretary-general Korn Chatikavanij yesterday threatened to sue the Thai Rak Thai Party for defaming his family by alleging that it had not properly paid taxes for share sales.
The call from two of the ruling party’s MPs for the Revenue Department to launch a tax-evasion investigation of his father, Kraisri Chatikavanij, and his uncle Kasem Chatikavanij, was the latest in a persistent series of attempts by the party to discredit his family, Korn said. Korn has been playing a key role in exposing alleged irregularities related to the sale of Shin Corp shares by the family of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Korn’s investigation has honed in on alleged irregularities related to Ample Rich Investments, which Thaksin set up in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven. The allegation by Thai Rak Thai MPs Wichai Chaijitwanitchayakul and Suchart Srisang that his father and uncle had evaded taxes in the sale of over 6 million shares in JF Thanakom Co in 2000 was false, Korn said. He and his family welcome an investigation by the Revenue Department, he added. His father had previously transferred his shares to his children so he had no shares to sell that year, Korn said. “I and other relatives have documents to prove that we have paid taxes properly,” he said. He pointed out that information on tax payments is confidential and it is unusual that the two MPs were able to find “partial” information to use to attack his family. His father and uncle are consulting lawyers as to whether to file a libel suit against the two Thai Rak Thai MPs, he said, adding he believed they were acting with the support of the ruling party.
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